Baby Face Nelson | American gangster | Britannica.com American gangster Alternative Titles: George Nelson, Lester Gillis Baby Face Nelson near Fox River Grove, Illinois Related Biographies Baby Face Nelson, byname of George Nelson, original name Lester Gillis (born 1908, Chicago , Illinois , U.S.—died November 27, 1934, near Fox River Grove, Illinois), American gunman and bank robber noted for his vicious killings and youthful looks. FBI mug shots of Baby Face Nelson, 1931. FBI From petty crime Nelson graduated into labour racketeering, working for Al Capone (1929–31) and other bootleg bosses; he was let go, however, proving too violent even for them. He then turned to bank robberies, joining with John Dillinger on two occasions (1934). Listed as Public Enemy Number One by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), he was killed in a wild shoot-out with FBI agents. Learn More in these related articles: Corrections? Updates? Help us improve this article! Contact our editors with your feedback. MEDIA FOR: You have successfully emailed this. Error when sending the email. Try again later.

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Close Article Title: Baby Face Nelson Website Name: Encyclopædia Britannica Date Published: January 27, 2012 URL: Access Date: January 19, 2017 Share 10 Female Gangsters You Should Know About | Mental Floss 10 Female Gangsters You Should Know About Wikimedia Commons Idolized and villainized, the American gangster is a character as iconic as the cowboy. Though organized crime tends to be a boys' club, there have been a slate of deadly women who have broken into its ranks. You know John Dillinger, Al Capone, and Bugsy Siegel. But do you know Stephanie St. Clair or The Pretty Pants Bandit? We think it's time that you did. 1. BONNIE PARKER Undoubtedly the most famous of the female American gangsters, Parker was half of the iconic crime duo Bonnie and Clyde. The two were notorious bank robbers in the "public enemy era" of 1931 to 1934, when the exploits of outlaws made them celebrities. Parker was born in Rowena, Texas, where she earned a reputation for being smart and outspoken.

She met Clyde Barrow in 1930. Though she was married, the two hit it off immediately. Apart from their robberies and killings, the legend of Bonnie and Clyde grew in part because of a photo shoot they did near their Joplin, Missouri hideout, images that still inspire re-imaginings of their lives. But those lives were cut short in a gruesome shootout with police in 1934. She was 23; he was 25. Parker has been portrayed by Dorothy Provine in 1958's The Bonnie Parker Story, by Tracey Needham in the 1992 made-for-TV movie Bonnie & Clyde: A True Story, and by Holliday Granger in the 2013 mini-series Bonnie & Clyde. But best remembered is the sultry turn of Faye Dunaway in the two-time Oscar-winning biopic Bonnie & Clyde. 2. Stephanie St. Clair She was called "Queenie" in much of Manhattan, but in her Harlem home she was known only as Madame St. Clair. An immigrant of French and African descent, St. Clair set up her numbers bank ten years after moving to the U.S.

and became fiercely protective of her neighborhood. She testified against corrupt cops, getting them fired from the force. Even more impressive, she thwarted the invasion of downtown mobsters once the end of Prohibition sent them uptown in search of new revenue. With the help of her chief enforcer Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson and an alliance with Lucky Luciano, Madame St. Clair kept the likes of Dutch Schultz out of Harlem. She later gloated when Schultz lay dying from a gunshot wound, sending a note to his hospital bed that read, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." When she retired, St. Clair handed her operation over to Bumpy, who became known as The Harlem Godfather. St. Clair has been immortalized in two films to date. In 1984, Novella Nelson played her in The Cotton Club. In 1997, she was portrayed by Cicely Tyson in Hoodlum. 3. OPAL "MACK TRUCK" LONG Believed to be born in Texas, Long earned the nickname "Mack Truck" because of her size (though it's said no one called her this to her face).

She was a member of John Dillinger's Terror Gang , brought in as the wife of Russell Clark. A caretaker by nature, Long—who preferred to be called Bernice Clark—happily cleaned the hideout and cooked for the whole gang, who she considered family. Things soured when her husband was arrested in Tucson, Arizona on January 25, 1934. She attacked the police who made the arrest, and later begged Dillinger for money to fund an appeal of Clark's case. Her demands ultimately ostracized her from the group. That summer she, too, was arrested. She never squealed on her cohorts, yet earned parole by November 1934. She lived out her days in Chicago. 4. Helen Gillis At 16, Helen Wawrzyniak made a fateful move marrying Lester Gillis, the man who came to be known as Baby Face Nelson. By 20, she had two babies—and a spot on the "shoot to kill" list of Public Enemies, thanks to him.

She's regarded more as an accomplice than a gangster in her own right, but Gillis was present at the "Battle of Barrington" in Illinois on November 27, 1934. There, Nelson spotted a cop car, and with Gillis and fellow thug John Paul Chase in tow, chased it down, guns blazing. This led to a shootout that killed Nelson along with two police officers. Gillis earned her place on the Public Enemies list by harboring her dying husband. She surrendered on Thanksgiving Day. Bitter over Nelson's ugly demise, Gillis testified against Chase, helping secure his life sentence. She died more than fifty years later, but was buried next to her beloved Baby Face in Chicago's St. Joseph's Cemetery. 5. Ma Barker Wikimedia Commons Don't let the nickname of this godmother of crime throw you. Arizona Donnie Barker (aka Kate Barker) was considered a merciless matriarch. At 19, Arizona Clark married George Barker and the two went on to have four sons: Herman, Lloyd, Arthur, and Fred. But the Barkers weren't just a family; they were a crime family, pulling off highway robberies as early as 1910.

These heists led to murder, and soon captivated the press and public of the Midwest. But fate took a turn for the Barkers in 1927, when Herman committed suicide to avoid arrest. Shortly thereafter, the other three sons ended up in jail. Arizona faced some lean years, but she reunited with Fred upon his release in 1931, spurring a new crime spree that led to her death and his. Both were killed when the FBI stormed her hideout in Lake Weir, Florida on January 8, 1935. Posthumously, her role in the Barker gang has been the matter of debate. Those close to the family insisted she could have played no active role in the criminal dealings of her sons, but J. Edgar Hoover called her "the most vicious, dangerous and resourceful criminal brain of the last decade." The legend of Ma Barker has inspired a slew of malevolent mothers in film and television, from ones seen in the James Cagney gangster classic White Heat to the children's cartoon show DuckTales.

But the character of Ma Barker would go on to be played by Jane Crowley in 1959's The FBI Story, Shelley Winters in 1970's Bloody Mama, and Theresa Russell in 1996's Public Enemies. 6. Pearl Elliott She shared ties with John Dillinger and Harry Pierpont, but Elliott was no hanger-on or gun moll. Instead, she was a notorious madam. She owned a whorehouse in Kokomo, Indiana that boasted police protection . To help keep things at her rural brothel safe, they had a system where she'd shine a flashlight out a window to signal for help should some john get out of hand. Her establishment also served as a hideout for Pierpont's crew following a 1925 bank robbery. Later, her role as "treasurer" for Dillinger earned her a spot on the 1933 Public Enemies list, which ordered officers to "shoot to kill." Despite her illegal operation and dangerous dealings, Elliott did not die in a hail of gunfire or in prison. She passed away on August 10, 1935, from an illness that may have been cancer. She was 47. 7.

The Pretty Pants Bandit Described as an attractive brunette with brown eyes and a habit of carrying two guns , this outlaw known as Marie Baker grabbed headlines in 1933 for a string of shop robberies committed by her Pants Gang. Baker earned her nickname for her bizarre demand to the shops' clerks. Once all other customers had left, this lingering lady would draw her weapons and command, "Take off your pants!" Those too shy to oblige were forcibly helped, with Baker sneering she couldn't be shocked. The Miami News reports that it was vanity that eventually brought her down. While checking her makeup during a butcher shop heist, Baker allowed a hostage to run free. She was soon caught and booked as Marie Baker. Later, it was uncovered she was in fact Mrs. Rose Durante, who would ultimately serve three years before vanishing into obscurity. 8. Virginia Hill Mafia Wikia Known as The Flamingo as well as " Queen of the Gangster Molls ," Hill became notorious as the girlfriend of Brooklyn mobster Bugsy Siegel. She came from a poor background, telling people she didn't own a pair of shoes until age seventeen.

Born in Alabama and raised in Georgia, she moved to Chicago to seek fame and fortune. She found a bit of both working as an accountant for Al Capone. When she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting ambitions, she met Siegel, for whom she'd soon be lover and courier. He'd later name his Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas after her. But this proved a bust business, bringing an abrupt end to Siegel's career, and arguably his life. He was gunned down in Hill's Hollywood home on June 20, 1947. Hill was coincidentally out of the house, and claimed , "If anyone or anything was his mistress, it was that Las Vegas hotel. I never knew Ben was involved in all that gang stuff. I can't imagine who shot him or why." Her underworld dealings had her take the stand increasingly as the years went on. In 1961, Hill was found dead in an Austria snowdrift, the victim of an apparent overdose of sleeping pills—although some speculate this too was a hit.

Though Hill never made it as an actress, she did make it to the big screen in 1991, when Annette Bening portrayed her in Bugsy. 9. Arlyne Brickman Born in 1933 to a Jewish family in East Harlem, Brickman grew up idolizing the glamor and thrills of Virginia Hill. "In my eyes, here was a broad that really made good," she later told biographer Teresa Carpenter. She worked for the mob as a numbers runner, drug dealer, and loan shark. Yet her Jewish heritage was an obstacle to rising up the ranks of the Sicilian-run crime syndicate. Still, the money and power was good enough to please her. Years later, after a loan shark threatened her daughter, Brickman turned informant . Her spying and testimony ultimate led to the conviction of Anthony Scarpati and several associates for racketeering. In 1992, Brickman told her story in Mob Girl: A Woman's Life In the Underworld . 10.

Evelyn "Billie" Frechette The Top 10 Underworld Gangster Nicknames The Top 10 Underworld Gangster Nicknames By Demon_Boy 9k views 10 items tags f t p @ This top ten list deals with the Mafia, organized crime and the underworld, therefore some criminal descriptions are included. When choosing the Top 10 Underworld Gangster names the criteria used included: how infamous the criminal was, how clever the nickname was and how the gangster arrived by the nickname. Ready to find out the top 10 gangster nicknames? G Options B Comments & Embed 2rerank list 1 Photo: uploaded by Demon_Boy Scarface Al was employed as a bouncer by racketeer Frankie Yale. Capone received the scars that gave him the nickname "Scarface" when he insulted a woman while working the door at a Brooklyn night club. This provoked a fight with her brother Frank Gallucio. Capone’s face was slashed three times on the left side by Gallucio. When photographed, Capone hid the scarred left side of his face and would lie about his injuries as war wounds, but he never served in the armed forces.

According to the 2002 magazine from Life , Capone was called "Snorky" by his closest friends. "Scarface" was certainly the better choice for an underworld gangster. Who could take Al "Snorky" Capone seriously. 2 Photo: uploaded by Demon_Boy An American gangster who was a driving force behind the development of Las Vegas, Ben "Bugsy" Siegel was not fond of his nickname and was never called that to his face. It was said to cause him to become enraged, murderously so. During his trial for the murder of Harry "Big Greenie" Greenberg (he was acquitted), the newspapers revealed Siegel’s sordid past and started referring to him as "Bugsy". He hated the nickname, "Bugsy" (said to be based on the slang term "bugs", meaning "crazy", describing his erratic behavior), and wouldn’t allow anyone to call him that to his face. 3 Photo: uploaded by Demon_Boy George "Machine Gun" Kelly, the notorious racketeer who gave FBI agents the nickname G-men, was given his gangster nickname by his wife Kathryn who forced him to practice with the machine gun.

(She gave it to him as a birthday present.) She became his public relations force and built up his "street cred" with other criminals. In fact, he was not accused or convicted of murder and never used his machine gun with the intent to kill. During his time at Alcatraz he got the nickname ‘Pop Gun Kelly’ for the fact that he was a model prisoner and was nowhere near the tough, brutal gangster his wife made him out to be. 4 Photo: uploaded by Demon_Boy Public Enemy #1 throughout the 1930s, Lester Joseph Gillis better known as "Baby Face" Nelson, due to his young appearance, didn’t care for his nickname and at one point declared himself "Big" George Nelson. The problem? He was only 5 feet 4 inches tall. "Where outlaws such as Pretty Boy Floyd…would kill to protect themselves when cornered, Nelson went out of his way to murder – he loved it," said Jay Robert Nash in Bloodletters and Badmen.

"His angelic, pear-smooth face never betrayed his instant ability to kill." 5 Thomas “Butterfingers” Moran Legendary pickpocket, Thomas "Butterfingers" Moran, was an adept pickpocket who could "slide in and out of a pocket like pure butter." Thomas picked his first pocket in 1906 in San Fransisco and his last pocket at age 78, in 1970. It is said he picked over 50,000 pockets during his lifetime. Like Pretty Boy, Butterfingers didn’t care for his nickname and said so when he was quoted, "I’ve never forgiven that smart-alecky reporter who named me ‘Butterfingers’." 6 Photo: uploaded by Demon_Boy Not someone you would ever want to meet, Mad Dog Coll was given the nickname for his disregard for human life including children. On July 28, 1931, Coll unsuccessfully attempted to kidnap Joey Rao, a Dutch Schultz underling. The resulting shootout left a five year old child, Michael Vengali, dead and several children wounded.

After this atrocity, New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker dubbed Coll "Mad Dog" and the whole city started looking for him. A $50,000 bounty was put on Mad Dog and he was gunned down while making a call in a phone booth in 1932. 7 Photo: uploaded by Demon_Boy This grisly nickname needs little imagination. As you would suspect, Icepick Willies’ method of murder involved an icepick. As the owner of a speakeasy in Minneapolis the gangster would murder his victims by pushing the icepick through their eardrum and into the brain. He used this quick "technique" because eyewitnesses would only see the victim suddenly slump over as a would-be drunk who had passed out. Icepick Willie could then drag the corpse from the speakeasy, as if helping the drunkard, and then dispose of the body.

8 Today in Gangster History - On This Day On This Day Historical Events Event of Interest 1921-12-23 Gangster Carlo Gambino enters the United States as an illegal immigrant on the SS Vincenzo Florio Gangster Carlo Gambino Event of Interest 1923-06-06 Gangster Albert Anastasia is convicted of illegal possession of a firearm and sentenced to two years in prison Gangster 1929-02-14 St Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago, 7 gangsters killed, allegedly on Al Capone 's orders Gangster 1931-10-24 Gangster Al Capone is sentenced to 11 years for tax evasion 1933-06-17 Kansas City Massacre: 1 FBI agent, 4 cops & 1 gangster killed by mob Event of Interest 1933-10-12 Gangster George Francis Barnes, aka Machine Gun Kelly , is sentenced to life imprisonment American Gangster 1936-05-01 FBI's J.

Edgar Hoover arrests gangster Alvin "Creepy" Karpis First Director of the FBI 1957-05-02 Gangster Frank Costello escapes an assassination attempt made by rival mobsters Gangster Frank Costello Event of Interest 1959-01-07 American gangster Meyer Lansky flees Cuba for the Bahamas due to the Cuban Revolution and rise of Fidel Castro Mobster 1961-12-21 Gangster Joe Gallo is sentenced to 7 to 14 years in state prison for extortion Gangster 1968-04-08 Gangsters Henry Hill and Jimmy Burke commit the Air France robbery, stealing $420,000 Mobster and FBI informant Henry Hill Murder of Interest 1983-01-20 American gangster Roy DeMeo is found murdered in his car trunk after disappearing a few days earlier Gangster Roy DeMeo Event of Interest 2011-06-22 After hiding for 16 years, Boston gangster Whitey Bulger is arrested outside an apartment in Santa Monica, California Gangster 2013-11-14 Boston gang

ster Whitey Bulger is sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus five years for his crimes Famous Birthdays 1883-06-20 Leah Baird, actress (Lady Gangster), born in Chicago, Illinois Person of Interest 1891-01-26 Frank Costello , Lauropoli Italy, Italian-American gangster (The Prime Minister of the Underworld) Gangster 1891-08-21 [George] Bugs Moran , American gangster, born in St.

Paul, Minnesota (d. 1957) Gangster 1895-07-18 George Machine Gun Kelly [Georgio Barnes], American gangster, born in Memphis, Tennessee (d. 1954) American Gangster Person of Interest 1896-11-24 Charles "Lucky" Luciano , Italian-American gangster of the New York mafia, born in Sicily, Italy (d. 1962) NYC Gangster 1899-01-17 Al Capone , American gangster (Chicago bootlegging), born in Brooklyn, New York Gangster 1902-09-26 Albert Anastasia [Umberto Anastasio], American-Italian gangster (Murder Inc), born in Tropea, Calabria, Italy (d. 1957) Gangster 1903-09-22 Joseph Valachi, American gangster (d.

1971) 1904-02-03 Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, gangster and FBI Most Wanted criminal 1905-01-18 Joseph Bonanno, Italian-born gangster (d. 2002) Person of Interest 1906-02-28 Bugsy Siegel , gangster created casinos in Las Vegas Mobster 1910-02-06 Carlos Marcello, Tunisian-born gangster (d. 1993) 1910-02-21 Carmine Galante, Italian-born gangster (d. 1979) 1913-09-04 Mickey Cohen, American gangster (d. 1976) 1914-03-15 Aniello Dellacroce, American gangster (d. 1985) 1921-01-19 "Billy Batts" Devino, American gangster (d.

1970) Person of Interest 1929-09-03 Whitey Bulger [James Joseph Bulger Jr.], American gangster, born in Boston, Massachusetts Gangster 1942-09-07 Roy DeMeo , American gangster (Gambino crime family), born in Brooklyn, New York Gangster Roy DeMeo 1945-03-12 Sammy "The Bull" Gravano, American gangster 1953-06-26 Robert Davi, American actor and opera singer (Die Hard, Gangster Chronicles, License to Kill), born in Queens, New York 1956-06-18 Brian Benben, Winchester Va, actor (Dream On, Gangster Chronicles) 1956-09-14 Joe Penny, actor (Gangster Wars, Riptide, Jake & the Fatman), born in London, England Famous Weddings 1918-12-30 Gangster Al Capone (19) marries Mae Josephine Coughlin, mother of his child Gangster 1926-12-05 Gangster Carlo

 Gambino (24) weds his first cousin Catherine Castellano Gangster 1889-02-03 Belle Starr, US female gangster, murdered at 40 1921-03-21 "Big Jim" Colisimo, US gangster, murdered by Al Capone 1929-05-07 Albert Anselmi, US gangster, murdered by Al Capone 1929-05-07 John Scalise, US gangster, murdered by Al Capone 1929-05-07 Joseph "Top Toad" Giunta, US gangster, murdered by Al Capone 1931-12-18 John T "Legs" Diamond, US gangster, murdered at 35 1934-10-22 Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd, gangster, shot dead at 30 by FBI in Ohio 1934-11-27 "Baby Face" Nelson, [Lester Gillis], gangster, shot by FBI at 26 1935-10-23 Abe Landau, US gang

ster, murdered 1935-10-23 Dutch Schultz [Arthur Flegenheimer], US gangster, murdered at 33 1935-10-23 Otto "Aba Daba" Berman, US gangster, murdered 1940-07-31 Whitney Krakower, US gangster, murderrd by "Bugsy" Siegel 1941-11-12 Abe "Kid Twist" Reles, NY gangster/police informer, killed 1942-02-19 Frank Abbandando, American gangster (executed) (b.

1910) 1943-03-19 Frank Nitti, American gangster (b. 1883) Person of Interest 10 Female Gangsters You Should Know About 10 Female Gangsters You Should Know About View Comments IDOLIZED and villainized, the American gangster is a character as iconic as the cowboy. Though organized crime tends to be a boys' club, there have been a slate of deadly women who have broken into its ranks. You know John Dillinger, Al Capone, and Bugsy Siegel. But do you know Stephanie St. Clair or The Pretty Pants Bandit? We think it's time that you did. 1. BONNIE PARKER Undoubtedly the most famous of the female American gangsters, Parker was half of the iconic crime duo Bonnie and Clyde. The two were notorious bank robbers in the "public enemy era" of 1931 to 1934, when the exploits of outlaws made them celebrities. Parker was born in Rowena, Texas, where she earned a reputation for being smart and outspoken. She met Clyde Barrow in 1930.

Though she was married, the two hit it off immediately. Apart from their robberies and killings, the legend of Bonnie and Clyde grew in part because of a photo shoot they did near their Joplin, Missouri hideout, images that still inspire re-imaginings of their lives. But those lives were cut short in a gruesome shootout with police in 1934. She was 23; he was 25. Parker has been portrayed by Dorothy Provine in 1958's The Bonnie Parker Story, by Tracey Needham in the 1992 made-for-TV movie Bonnie & Clyde: A True Story, and by Holliday Granger in the 2013 mini-series Bonnie & Clyde. But best remembered is the sultry turn of Faye Dunaway in the two-time Oscar-winning biopic Bonnie & Clyde. 2. Stephanie St. Clair She was called "Queenie" in much of Manhattan, but in her Harlem home she was known only as Madame St. Clair. An immigrant of French and African descent, St. Clair set up her numbers bank ten years after moving to the U.S. and became fiercely protective of her neighborhood.

She testified against corrupt cops, getting them fired from the force. Even more impressive, she thwarted the invasion of downtown mobsters once the end of Prohibition sent them uptown in search of new revenue. With the help of her chief enforcer Ellsworth "Bumpy" Johnson and an alliance with Lucky Luciano, Madame St. Clair kept the likes of Dutch Schultz out of Harlem. She later gloated when Schultz lay dying from a gunshot wound, sending a note to his hospital bed that read, "As ye sow, so shall ye reap." When she retired, St. Clair handed her operation over to Bumpy, who became known as The Harlem Godfather. St. Clair has been immortalized in two films to date. In 1984, Novella Nelson played her in The Cotton Club. In 1997, she was portrayed by Cicely Tyson in Hoodlum. 3. OPAL "MACK TRUCK" LONG Believed to be born in Texas, Long earned the nickname "Mack Truck" because of her size (though it's said no one called her this to her face). She was a member of John Dillinger's Terror Gang, brought in as the wife of Russell Clark.

A caretaker by nature, Long—who preferred to be called Bernice Clark—happily cleaned the hideout and cooked for the whole gang, who she considered family. Things soured when her husband was arrested in Tucson, Arizona on January 25, 1934. She attacked the police who made the arrest, and later begged Dillinger for money to fund an appeal of Clark's case. Her demands ultimately ostracized her from the group. That summer she, too, was arrested. She never squealed on her cohorts, yet earned parole by November 1934. She lived out her days in Chicago. 4. Helen Gillis At 16, Helen Wawrzyniak made a fateful move marrying Lester Gillis, the man who came to be known as Baby Face Nelson. By 20, she had two babies—and a spot on the "shoot to kill" list of Public Enemies, thanks to him. She's regarded more as an accomplice than a gangster in her own right, but Gillis was present at the "Battle of Barrington" in Illinois on November 27, 1934.

There, Nelson spotted a cop car, and with Gillis and fellow thug John Paul Chase in tow, chased it down, guns blazing. This led to a shootout that killed Nelson along with two police officers. Gillis earned her place on the Public Enemies list by harboring her dying husband. She surrendered on Thanksgiving Day. Bitter over Nelson's ugly demise, Gillis testified against Chase, helping secure his life sentence. She died more than fifty years later, but was buried next to her beloved Baby Face in Chicago's St. Joseph's Cemetery. 5. Ma Barker Don't let the nickname of this godmother of crime throw you. Arizona Donnie Barker (aka Kate Barker) was considered a merciless matriarch. At 19, Arizona Clark married George Barker and the two went on to have four sons: Herman, Lloyd, Arthur, and Fred. But the Barkers weren't just a family; they were a crime family, pulling off highway robberies as early as 1910. These heists led to murder, and soon captivated the press and public of the Midwest. But fate took a turn for the Barkers in 1927, when Herman committed suicide to avoid arrest.

Shortly thereafter, the other three sons ended up in jail. Arizona faced some lean years, but she reunited with Fred upon his release in 1931, spurring a new crime spree that led to her death and his. Both were killed when the FBI stormed her hideout in Lake Weir, Florida on January 8, 1935. Posthumously, her role in the Barker gang has been the matter of debate. Those close to the family insisted she could have played no active role in the criminal dealings of her sons, but J. Edgar Hoover called her "the most vicious, dangerous and resourceful criminal brain of the last decade." The legend of Ma Barker has inspired a slew of malevolent mothers in film and television, from ones seen in the James Cagney gangster classic White Heat to the children's cartoon show DuckTales. But the character of Ma Barker would go on to be played by Jane Crowley in 1959's The FBI Story, Shelley Winters in 1970's Bloody Mama, and Theresa Russell in 1996's Public Enemies. 6.

Pearl Elliott She shared ties with John Dillinger and Harry Pierpont, but Elliott was no hanger-on or gun moll. Instead, she was a notorious madam. She owned a whorehouse in Kokomo, Indiana that boasted police protection. To help keep things at her rural brothel safe, they had a system where she'd shine a flashlight out a window to signal for help should some john get out of hand. Her establishment also served as a hideout for Pierpont's crew following a 1925 bank robbery. Later, her role as "treasurer" for Dillinger earned her a spot on the 1933 Public Enemies list, which ordered officers to "shoot to kill." Despite her illegal operation and dangerous dealings, Elliott did not die in a hail of gunfire or in prison. She passed away on August 10, 1935, from an illness that may have been cancer. She was 47. 7. The Pretty Pants Bandit Described as an attractive brunette with brown eyes and a habit of carrying two guns, this outlaw known as Marie Baker grabbed headlines in 1933 for a string of shop robberies committed by her Pants Gang.

Baker earned her nickname for her bizarre demand to the shops' clerks. Once all other customers had left, this lingering lady would draw her weapons and command, "Take off your pants!" Those too shy to oblige were forcibly helped, with Baker sneering she couldn't be shocked. The Miami News reports that it was vanity that eventually brought her down. While checking her makeup during a butcher shop heist, Baker allowed a hostage to run free. She was soon caught and booked as Marie Baker. Later, it was uncovered she was in fact Mrs. Rose Durante, who would ultimately serve three years before vanishing into obscurity. 8. Virginia Hill Known as The Flamingo as well as "Queen of the Gangster Molls," Hill became notorious as the girlfriend of Brooklyn mobster Bugsy Siegel. She came from a poor background, telling people she didn't own a pair of shoes until age seventeen. Born in Alabama and raised in Georgia, she moved to Chicago to seek fame and fortune. She found a bit of both working as an accountant for Al Capone. When she moved to Los Angeles to pursue her acting ambitions, she met Siegel, for whom she'd soon be lover and courier.

He'd later name his Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas after her. But this proved a bust business, bringing an abrupt end to Siegel's career, and arguably his life. He was gunned down in Hill's Hollywood home on June 20, 1947. Hill was coincidentally out of the house, and claimed, "If anyone or anything was his mistress, it was that Las Vegas hotel. I never knew Ben was involved in all that gang stuff. I can't imagine who shot him or why." Her underworld dealings had her take the stand increasingly as the years went on. In 1961, Hill was found dead in an Austria snowdrift, the victim of an apparent overdose of sleeping pills—although some speculate this too was a hit. Though Hill never made it as an actress, she did make it to the big screen in 1991, when Annette Bening portrayed her in Bugsy. 9. Arlyne Brickman Born in 1933 to a Jewish family in East Harlem, Brickman grew up idolizing the glamor and thrills of Virginia Hill. "In my eyes, here was a broad that really made good," she later told biographer Teresa Carpenter.

She worked for the mob as a numbers runner, drug dealer, and loan shark. Yet her Jewish heritage was an obstacle to rising up the ranks of the Sicilian-run crime syndicate. Still, the money and power was good enough to please her. Years later, after a loan shark threatened her daughter, Brickman turned informant. Her spying and testimony ultimate led to the conviction of Anthony Scarpati and several associates for racketeering. In 1992, Brickman told her story in Mob Girl: A Woman's Life In the Underworld. 10. Evelyn "Billie" Frechette She became infamous as John Dillinger's devoted girlfriend, but Frechette came from an unexpected background for a gun moll. A child of French and Native American descent through the Menominee tribe, she attended Catholic grade school, then went on to graduate from high school. Even with an education, finding work was difficult, which led Frechette to Chicago. After her first husband was jailed for a post office robbery, Frechette met Dillinger, and traveled with him through a cross-country crime spree. The pair survived several shootouts.

She was later convicted for harboring a fugitive, and served two years in prison, during which Dillinger died. Upon her release in 1936, Frechette spun her criminal past into a new career, setting out on a lecture tour called "Crime Does Not Pay." She died of cancer 33 years later. Baby Face Nelson - Criminal - Biography.com Baby Face Nelson Baby Face Nelson was a bank robber and killer in the 1920s and '30s, and a criminal associate of John Dillinger. IN THESE GROUPS Famous People Who Died in United States Synopsis Born Lester Joseph Gillis in Chicago, Illinois, on December 6, 1908, Baby Face Nelson became one of the most notorious bank robbers of the early 20th century. He started his life in crime at the age of 13. Nelson was sentenced to jail in 1931 for a bank robbery, but he soon escaped from custody. He returned to his criminal activities, including robbing banks. In 1934, he participated in robberies with John Dillinger and his gang. After Dillinger's death, J.

Edgar Hoover announced that Nelson was now "Public Enemy No. 1." He died following a shootout with the FBI in November 1934. Early Life and Crimes Notorious bank robber and killer Baby Face Nelson was born Lester Joseph Gillis in Chicago, Illinois, on December 6, 1908. According to some reports, both of his parents were immigrants from Belgium. The New York Times listed his father's occupation as tanner. During his school years, Nelson was known to have a short temper and often got into fights with his classmates. By the age of 13, Nelson had begun his life of crime. He was caught stealing in 1922 and sentenced to the St. Charles School for Boys. Over the next few years, he was in and out of juvenile facilities. Nelson eventually earned the nickname "Baby Face" for his youthful appearance by his fellow street thugs. He was only five feet four inches tall and weighed roughly 133 pounds. In 1928, Nelson married Helen Wawzynak. She called herself Helen Gillis, even after her husband had taken on the last name of Nelson. Helen was only 16 years old at the time.

The couple soon had a son and a daughter together. Notorious Bank Robber Nelson graduated to adult prison in 1931 after robbing a bank in Chicago. Sentenced to a year in jail, he escaped from custody while being transported to be tried on another bank robbery charge in February 1932. Nelson eventually wound up in Sausalito, California where he met John Paul Chase. The pair engaged in numerous criminal activities over the next few years. Nelson joined up legendary criminal John Dillinger in 1934, shortly after Dillinger's original gang dissolved. Nelson was almost caught that April while he was hiding out with the Dillinger gang in northern Wisconsin. But he shot his way out of the situation, killing an FBI agent in the process. He was with Dillinger and Homer Van Meter during the June robbery of the Merchants National Bank in South Bend, Indiana. A police officer was killed by the gang during the crime. On July 22, 1934, Dillinger himself was ambushed and killed by FBI agents outside the Biograph Theater in Lincoln Park in Chicago. The next day, FBI director J.

Edgar Hoover announced that Nelson was the new "Public Enemy No. 1." Van Meter met a grisly end the following month, in a confrontation with police. Violent Death After Dillinger's death, Nelson headed to California with his wife, Helen, and John Paul Chase for a time. He managed to evade capture for several months, but the FBI finally caught up with him in November 27, 1934. Nelson was driving in a stolen car with his wife and Chase near Barrington, Illinois, when they were spotted by FBI agents. For a time, Nelson tried to drive away and the agents gave chase. He then stopped the car to shoot at the agents. A brief gun battle ensued, which left FBI agent Herman E. Hollis dead. A second agent, Samuel P. Cowley, died several hours later in an Elgin hospital. Nelson had been severely wounded—hit by 17 bullets—in the standoff, but he, Chase and his wife managed to get away. On November 28, 1934, the 25-year-old Nelson succumbed to his injuries. His body was left near the St. Peter Catholic Cemetery in Skokie, Illinois.

His wife was later sentenced to a year in prison for violating her parole. She had previously pleaded guilty to harboring fugitives. Fact Check We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us ! Citation Information

Question: By what nickname was American gangster Lester Gillis known
Answer: Baby Face Nelson